FourPlay String Quartet

FourPlay's first album, Catgut Ya' Tongue? was released in 1998, and featured mostly covers (of bands including Metallica and Depeche Mode, and the theme from Doctor Who), along with a few original compositions. In late 1999, Emerson left to get married in England and was replaced by Veren Grigorov. FourPlay released their second album, The Joy Of... in 2000, which included, among other things, a two-part dub/klezmer composition, a distortion-heavy cover of Pop Will Eat Itself's Ich Bin Ein Auslander, and a gypsy-style instrumental ending with a mass scream. This was followed, a year later (2001), by a 2-disc remix compilation, Digital Manipulation, featuring work by many Australian musicians, including Machine Translations, B(if)tek and Darrin Verhagen. FourPlay have also toured abroad extensively, and supported artists including george and The Whitlams.

In 2004, Grigorov was replaced by Shenton Gregory aka Shenzo Gregorio, renowned{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}} stunt violinist from Brisbane. Shenzo's personality and style meshed perfectly{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}} into FourPlay, and he took to the viola instantly. A highly fertile period of new composition resulted in many new originals, as well as covers of Radiohead, The Strokes, and various jazz/blues numbers. These were recorded in the latter half of 2005 and appear on Now To The Future, released in June 2006.

In July 2009, Fourthcoming, their fourth album, was released. Most of the tracks were written 3 years prior.{{cite web |url=http://www.fourplay.com.au/discog.php |title=FourPlay discography |accessdate=2009-07-26 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090527085119/http://www.fourplay.com.au/discog.php |archivedate=2009-05-27 }} Recorded live at the Street Theatre in Canberra over three small gigs. Like the previous three albums, Fourthcoming contains a number of covers. Rage Against the Machine, Leonard Cohen and Sufjan Stevens. A number of the original songs contain politically charged lyrics. The track A Grain of Truth was inspired by the AWB (Australian Wheat Board) scandal.{{Cite web |url=http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/reviews/events/19540/Fourplay--The-Governor-Hindmarsh-Adelaide-230709.htm |title=Fourplay @ the Governor Hindmarsh, Adelaide (23/07/09) on FasterLouder.com.au |access-date=2009-07-28 |archive-date=2009-07-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090731072705/http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/reviews/events/19540/Fourplay--The-Governor-Hindmarsh-Adelaide-230709.htm |url-status=dead }} The track Where The Sun Don't Shine was written in response to the former Prime Minister of Australia John Howard's sustainable energy policy for the 2007 election. The track Rudd-a-dub Dub refers to the then-current Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd.

In August 2010, the band collaborated with author Neil Gaiman and comics author/artist Eddie Campbell at the inaugural Graphic festival at the Sydney Opera House,{{cite web |url=http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/about/program_graphic.aspx |title = Welcome to the Sydney Opera House - Sydney Opera House}} composing a 70-minute accompaniment to Gaiman's novella "The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains". The twelve year long collaboration between Mr. Gaiman and the Fourplay String Quartet culminated in the 2023 record "Signs of Life".{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/neil-gaiman-fourplay-string-quartet-album-signs-of-life-1234617754/ |title=Neil Gaiman and FourPlay String Quartet Announce Debut Collaborative Album 'Signs of Life' on RollingStone.com |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=25 October 2022 |accessdate=2022-12-07}}

{{Portal|Music|Australia}}

• Catgut Ya' Tongue? (1998)
• The Joy Of... (2000)
• Now To The Future (2006)
• Fourthcoming (2009)
• This Machine (2014)
• Signs of Life (with Neil Gaiman){{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/neil-gaiman-announces-new-album-shares-songs-with-fourplay-string-quartet/ |title=Neil Gaiman Announces New Album, Shares Songs With FourPlay String Quartet |work=Pitchfork |date=October 25, 2022 |access-date=October 25, 2022 |author=Arcand, Rob}}

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.

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| 2007{{cite web|url=http://www.inthemix.com.au/news/aust/34821/2007_Jagermeister_AIR_Awards_Nominees_Revealed|title=2007 Jagermeister AIR Awards Nominees Revealed|website=inthemix|date=2 November 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927174743/http://www.inthemix.com.au/news/aust/34821/2007_Jagermeister_AIR_Awards_Nominees_Revealed|accessdate=18 August 2020|archive-date=2012-09-27}}{{cite web|url=https://www.air.org.au/awards/history|title=History Wins|website=Australian Independent Record Labels Association|accessdate=18 August 2020}}

|Now to the Future

| Best Independent Jazz Album

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The ARIA Music Awards is an annual award ceremony event celebrating the Australian music industry.

{{Awards table}}

! {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}

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| 2023

| Signs of Life (with Neil Gaiman)

| Best Classical Album

| {{nominated}}

| {{cite web|url=https://musicfeeds.com.au/news/nominees-announced-for-2023-aria-awards/|title= Nominees Announced for 2023 ARIA Awards|website=Music Feeds|date=21 September 2023|access-date=24 September 2023}}

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{{reflist}}

• [http://www.fourplay.com.au Official website]
• [http://www.myspace.com/fourplaystringquartet Myspace page]

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Category:Australian jazz ensembles

Category:New South Wales musical groups

Category:Musical groups established in 1995